THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 10, 1995 TAG: 9507100049
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The number of Virginians on welfare dropped sharply from March to May, the first two months after the state approved a tough new public assistance overhaul plan.
The reason for the falloff, however, is unclear.
Gov. George F. Allen claims credit for the more than 5,800 adults and children who dropped off the welfare rolls during the two-month span. He attributes the drop mainly to people who were scared of the new law, which requires able-bodied recipients to work and limits most benefits to two years.
``If you know you're going to be held responsible and accountable as you enter the system, you might say, `Gosh, why should I go through all this?' '' said Allen, who pushed the reform through the General Assembly.
Other officials who monitor state poverty programs, however, dismissed Allen's explanation as simplistic. The number of Virginians receiving government aid has declined gradually for the last year as the economy improved. The two-month falloff coincided with a dip in the unemployment rate.
Unemployment fell to a five-year low of 4 percent in April.
``My best guess is this reduction (in welfare rolls) is probably due to two different factors,'' said Roger R. Stough, director of regional studies at George Mason University's Institute on Public Policy. ``One is a tightening up of Virginia's system of access and controls on welfare and the other is the reduced unemployment level in the state.''
Some other states that have instituted welfare reform have noticed significant drops in their caseloads, while others have seen marginal changes. There are no national figures, however, that make it possible to compare Virginia's experience with that of other states.
In Virginia, the caseload has been edging downward since March 1994, generally by several hundred people each month, as the state began to recover economically from the recession at the beginning of the decade. The numbers took a steeper dive beginning last March, the same month Allen signed the new program into law.
From March to May, the number of Virginians receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children dropped from 186,884 to 181,046, the lowest level in at least three years.
Those 5,838 people represented a 3 percent decrease in just 60 days, the sharpest decline in such a short period in years. Figures for June are not yet available.
The work component of the reform will begin in five counties in the Culpeper area. Recipients who meet the work requirements must agree to accept a private sector or community service job within 90 days of receiving their first check. The rest of the state will be phased in over the next four years.
Janis K. Selbo, social services director in Fauquier County, one of the five pilot localities, said she believes the falloff results from a mix of reaction to Allen's program and greater vigilance by authorities.
Officials have picked up the pace of case reviews and are finding ineligible recipients and others unwilling to submit to scrutiny, she said.
``After two years on assistance,'' she said, ``people were saying: `You want me to do what? I have to have a review?' ''
KEYWORDS: WELFARE REFORM VIRGINIA ADC by CNB